Fighting victory for Craig Lowndes

Craig Lowndes fought his way to an important victory in the first 100 kilometer race of the day at Phillip Island. The Triple Eight driver started from eighth on the grid but had his sights set on the lead and team mate Jamie Whincup early on after a cracking start.

Lowdnes made his way from eighth to fifth on the first lap. A couple of laps later saw the Holden driver having climbed to second place, but with team mate and title rival Whincup six seconds ahead.

But a safety car period to recover Michael Caruso’s damaged Nissan Altima meant that Lowndes was right behind Whincup with few laps to go.

And it was not far after the restart that Lowndes made his way past Whincup to win the race and reduce the championship lead of fellow Triple Eight driver to just six points.

Shane Van Gisbergen claimed third position ahead of Chaz Mostert in fourth and Fabian Coulthard in fifth. Alex Davison headed four Fords in sixth position, with Ford Performance Racing drivers Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison in seventh and eighth, with David Reynolds in ninth.